fios airport extreme help

I followed this guide, http://www.podfeet.com/blog/tutorials-5/how-to-configure-verizon-fios-router-to- give-network-control-to-airport-extreme/

but the speeds i get with my airport extreme are very slow, I am paying for 300 and getting 50 right next to the router.

These instructions place the AirPort Extreme in a DMZ, and with both routers configured for NAT, you would have a "double NAT" condition which the instructions ask you to ignore. What the instructions doesn't tell you are two very important things:

1. Your Extreme is completely exposed to the Internet, and
2. The double NAT configuration is not very efficient, and, most likely, why you are experiencing poor data rate performance.

So the basic questions back to you are:

• Why would you want this type of configuration in the first place, and
• What is your overall networking goal with both of these routers?

I followed this guide, http://www.podfeet.com/blog/tutorials-5/how-to-configure-verizon-fios-router-to- give-network-control-to-airport-extreme/

Unfortunately, if you follow the steps in this guide, you will wind up with a Double NAT error on the AirPort Extreme.....which can severely restrict connection speeds, and create other issues as well.

"Ignoring" the error....as the guide suggests.....will not make the error go away. So, best to put the guide aside and configure the AirPort correctly.

My advice would be to accept the fact that you will not be able to make the AirPort Extreme the primary router with the Fios Gateway providing your Internet connection. IF....Fios offered a simple modem......not a modem/router or gateway.....with their service.....then....you would be able to set up the AirPort Extreme as the main router for your network.

Unless something has changed within the last few days with Fios, they do not offer a simple modem option to their customers. So, if you still want to try to set up the AirPort Extreme as the main or primary router on your network, I will not be able to assist you, but perhaps someone else can.

I would suggest that you reset the the Fios Gateway back to its original factory default settings, as provided by Fios.

Once you have done that, connect an Ethernet cable from one of the four LAN <--> ports directly to your Mac and check the speed that way to confirm that you are receiving the speed that you are paying for.

Once you have verified this, start over with the AirPort Extreme and reset it back to factory default settings, then set it up again. The setup "wizard" in AirPort Utility will configure the AirPort Extreme in the correct Bridge Mode configuration to work with the Fios Gateway.

Now, connect an Ethernet cable from one of the three LAN <--> ports on the back of the AirPort Extreme directly to the Mac and check the Internet connection speed that way.

IF......the AirPort Extreme is functioning correctly, you should see about the same speed as you measured when the Mac was connected directly to the Ethernet port on the back of the Fios Gateway.

If you don't see about the same speed on the AirPort.....and you have reset the device again a few more times and set it up a few more times.....then the AirPort is defective and will need to be replaced.

There is no reason to even check wireless speeds on the AirPort Extreme until you have verified that Ethernet is working correctly. Another way to say that the same thing is that if Ethernet is not working correctly, then wireless will not be working correctly either.

Please post back on your results.

I had Verizon for years (before my area was sold to Frontier) with both a Verizon provided router and using my own in various configurations. While Allison's guide will work, it is fraught with issues. For starters Frontier techs have told me that for the higher speeds you must switch from coax to ethernet from the ONT. One tech that came out said that speeds often fall out at anything above 75 mbps eventually. They've had success getting 150 to run for a short time but eventually it will stop working and you'll see the slower speeds.

Even if COAX could handle the higher speeds, I can't recommend enough to get the extra router out of your configuration. These gateway routers are known to be horribly insecure. Verizon and Frontier can push updates to these gateways which will wipe out your configuration without any notice.

The reason you need the gateway is that it acts as a bridge between the ethernet and COAX networks that exist in your house. You need this if you are using one of their set-top boxes. To get around this problem you will want to buy a MOCA adapter.

There are a couple different ones I use and would recommend:

Actiontec Ethernet to Coax Adapter for Homes with Cable TV Service: This is a basic MOCA bridge with one ethernet port. You can use this to add an ethernet port anywhere in your house where you only have COAX. I use one of these to connect my main Airport Express to my MOCA network. I then have a second one attached to my 4th Gen Airport Extreme that extends my WiFi network. I usually see at least 100 mbps between the two base stations over the COAX.

ChannelMaster Internet to TV 4-Port Coax Switch: This one is excellent if you need more than other ethernet port in another room where you don't have ethernet. I currently have a TiVo and Slingbox connected to one in one of my bedrooms.

The simpler you can make your network the better your performance.

As an aside, if you don't have any set-top boxes, then you don't need the MOCA bridge at all. You can simply run ethernet from the ONT to your router. Once the ethernet is run from outside to your router, you only need to call technical support to have them switch your internet from the COAX to the ethernet on the ONT. This is a customer accessible part of the ONT. You can expect them to ask why. Tell them you want to use your own router. They don't need to know anything else. They will warn you about losing internet to your STB and such if you have them

But, you got other great advice........The simpler you can make your network the better your performance.

The simplest setup is to run the Fios Gateway as it was intended, and the AirPort Extreme in Bridge Mode, which would be the correct setting for the AirPort.

Somehow, the simplest networks always seem to the be the networks that have the fewest problems......assuming that the network devices are all working correctly. No reason to add an adapter though, and make things more complicated until you know that the AirPort is operating correctly in a simple setup.

BobTimmons wrote:

But, you got other great advice........The simpler you can make your network the better your performance.

I've learned that lesson the hard way many times.

The simplest setup is to run the Fios Gateway as it was intended, and the AirPort Extreme in Bridge Mode, which would be the correct setting for the AirPort.

This is the simplest setup but having been where Janesmith999 is I can understand why they want to change. These Gateways aren't the best and they are definitely not secure at all.

The easiest way to do that is to get rid of the gateway and use the actiontec adapter to bridge the ethernet to the COAX. Note: this isn't the cheapest. Very few companies make the MOCA adapters so supply and demand can make prices fluctuate a great deal.

"Its just when I am doing it bridge mode the speeds are horribly low. I don't know what is causing this."

Did you perform the checks that I suggested?

If you did, and the Airport is still VERY SLOW.....and.....you have reset the AirPort and set it up again a few times.....then the AirPort is VERY DEFECTIVE.....and will need to be replaced.

If you did not yet perform that checks that I detailed, and you want to try to find out where the problem(s) might be, then I suggest that you perform the checks.

Tip....you cannot troubleshoot a wireless speed issue until you have first checked to make sure that Ethernet is working correctly. If Ethernet is not working correctly.....then wireless will never work correctly.

What is VERY SLOW?

You must have missed the info provided in the original question above.......

......but the speeds i get with my airport extreme are very slow, I am paying for 300 and getting 50 right next to the router......

Hi,

I have to configuration you are describing (Fios Quantum Gateway>Airport Extreme) and it works very well.

There are many possible reasons for slowness; but to make sure you are connecting to the AE WiFi and not Fios,

turn off the wireless transmitter on the Fios router.

1- connect the AE WAN port to one of the LAN port of the router

2- reset your AE (use a pin in the reset switch in the back, press for 10 seconds)

3- Access your AE trough your mac Airport Utility and create a wireless network

4- Connect your mac to the newly created network

5- Use Airport Utility to assign a static IP address to the AE, also enable the 5 GHz network

You can choose to have AE provide DHCP addresses if you want or leave the Fios router do it, that setting in under Network in AUtility. Don't select DHCP and NAT because you will get a Double NAT error.

Hope this helps.

You don't if you buy the Actiontec adapter I mentioned. It can be found on Amazon and other retailers. It will solve your issue.